Talented craft distiller Nathan Greenawalt founded Old Sugar in 2010, and commissioned a distinctive pot still with two rectification caps, made for him in the Ozarks. He distills an amazing assortment of interesting spirits, all of them tasty.

Greenewalt is unusual among craft distillers for using direct gas heat instead of steam or electricity. Direct heat is trickier because you risk burning your product, but it caramelizes the distillate, adding a rich complexity. He ferments –in house, which is rare — dark brown cane sugar sourced in Louisiana and Hawaii and lets his rum pick up lots of oak. Old Abe, a bald eagle, was the mascot of the Wisconsin 9th Infantry during the Civil War.